DJ Boris has been a face of New York City nightlife for more than a decade. A native of Russia but a long-time resident of NYC, Boris has since established residencies in major cities across the country for his well-trained powerhouse sound.
We had a quick chat with him at the W Hotel in South Beach, Miami two weeks ago. Keep on reading to see what this long-time DJ has to say about the evolution of dance music, Miami versus New York, and more. We’d also like to wish DJ Boris a very happy birthday, which is to be celebrated tomorrow night at none other than Pacha NYC!
When did you get to Miami?
I got here 2 weeks ago. I have a place here, so I’m like a part-time resident of Miami.
What are your favorite places?
Lincoln Road. Some good restaurants are over there.
Where have you been playing?
We did Space on Friday. We have the Octopus, which is a techno label, one of my releases just came out on it. The Octopus Showcase is tomorrow, that’s where a whole bunch of guys will be. We have of course the Get Wet Pool Party on Saturday, and that’s kinda the big one. It’s our 9th year. A lot of mayhem is gonna be going on. This year we got Roger Sanchez as well as myself, it should be a good time.
What has inspired you since you’ve been down here during Miami Music Week?
I find it more cooler now, like some of the techno guys are kinda like, playing bigger events. Now, that music as well as house has gotten… bigger – more advanced. You see guys like Richie Hawton playing LIV, which was a couple of months ago down here, but like, some of the underground guys playing the Mansion’s and the Story’s and some of the clubs where you would never usually have these guys play at. So it’s growing, and the music is advancing.
Since you started out years ago, like when you were a resident at Crowbar in NYC back in 2004, how has your genre evolved with the times?
Crowbar was a huge, huge club and I was there for 3 years. That kinda like, put me more… Well, you always have to evolve with the times, so to speak, otherwise you’ll get lost and left behind. You know, genres change yearly, so it’s like you gotta always be ahead of the game, always putting out new stuff.
How do you go about keeping up?
Well I try to incorporate going out and listening to other guys, what they’re playing, and combining that with what I’m playing, and transferring that to what I’m doing as far as production-wise.
What are the biggest differences you’ve noticed between a city like Miami and a city like New York?
For me, New York and Miami are very similar markets, because I’ve been playing Miami just as long. I kind of have a similar fan base. But as far as other markets, you always have to adapt to them.
Anyone you want to collab with in the future?
Obviously I have a lot of stuff coming out, on a lot of big techno labels. I’d love to do something with Dubfire because we have a big EP on the label, so I’m looking forward to possibly doing something together this summer as well as with other guys in Ibiza this year.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you during a set?
Yeah, the music stopped!
Many thanks to Boris and his team for sitting down with us during his busy time in Miami.
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